Poultry processing method and apparatus

ABSTRACT

As a series of birds are conveyed in a suspended, inverted attitude through a poultry processing plant the neck of each bird is received in a rotating helical rotor formed by a pair of helical bars arranged in overlapping, coaxial relationship and which form a helical path therebetween. The helical rotor is rotated in timed relationship with respect to the bird conveyor so as to progressively grasp and move the heads of the birds with the conveyor. The feathers at the neck of each bird are wiped across the length of the neck, and the jugular vein of each bird is severed without severing the spinal cord or trachea of the bird.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

In modern poultry processing plants the poultry or birds are conveyedthrough the plants in equally spaced relationship on an overheadconveyor in an inverted attitude, with the birds suspended from theconveyor by their feet or hocks. The birds move on the conveyor systemthrough various processing stations where they are stunned, killed,scalded, defeathered, eviscerated, etc.

In the process of killing the birds, it is desirable to cut the jugularvein of each bird without severing the spinal cord or trachea so thatthe birds tend to bleed to death. With this procedure, the heart of thebird tends to pump the blood from the body of the bird. If the spinalcord is inadvertently severed during the killing procedure, the heart ofthe bird stops its function and/or the bird is likely to have spasms soas to inhibit further processing of the bird until the spasms subside.If the trachea of the bird should be severed, the blood of the bird islikely to choke the bird before the bird bleeds to death. Thus, it isimportant to orient the head and neck of the bird during the cuttingprocedure in order that the neck tissue and jugular vein of the bird besevered without damaging the spinal cord and trachea.

Since the necks and heads of the birds on an overhead conveyor aresuspended beneath the bird as the birds move through the processingplant, it is difficult to control the exact positions of the heads andnecks because of the differences in size, weight and configuration ofeach bird and because the conveyor system tends to swing and twist thebirds during movement through the processing plant.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly described, the present invention comprises a poultry processingmethod and apparatus wherein as birds are conveyed in an invertedattitude in series through a poultry processing plant, the necks andheads of the birds are grasped and conveyed in timed relationship withthe conveyor line, the heads are oriented, and the jugular veins of thebirds are severed without severing the trachea and spinal cord of thebirds. The necks of the birds are gently stretched so that the neck ofeach bird is grasped adjacent the skull of the bird and the cut in theneck is formed adjacent the skull.

A helical rotor comprises a pair of helical bars arranged inoverlapping, coaxial relationship and form an open ended helical pathpositioned beneath the conveyor line, and the helical rotor is driven bythe conveyor line, in timed relationship with the conveyor line. Thenecks and heads of the birds are received in the open ended helical pathformed by the helical bars, and the helical rotor moves the necks andheads of the birds in timed relationship with respect to the movement ofthe birds on the conveyor system. Cutting means are mounted on thehelical rotor, and after the heads and necks have been received in thehelical rotor and the head properly oriented therein, the cutting meanssever the opposite sides of the neck of each bird adjacent the skull,thereby cutting the jugular vein without cutting the spinal cord and/ortrachea of the bird.

In one embodiment of the invention at least one of the helical barsincludes a fluid passage therealong with openings extending from thefluid passage into the helical path formed by the helical bars, andmeans are provided for inducing a flow of fluid through the fluidpassage and openings. With this structure steam, water or other fluidscan be applied to the helical bars and to the necks of the birds duringthe process.

In another embodiment of the invention the helical rotor is equippedwith cutting means which decapitates the birds.

Thus, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved poultryprocessing method and apparatus which accurately positions the necks andheads of birds moving along an overhead conveyor system and then seversthe jugular veins of the birds without severing the trachea or spinalcord.

Another object of this invention is to provide apparatus for graspingand controlling the neck and head portion of each bird on an overheadconveyor system of a poultry processing plant so that the neck and headportions of each bird can be expediently and accurately treated, as bysevering the jugular vein of the bird or decapitating the bird.

Another object of this invention is to provide a method and apparatusfor reliably controlling and treating the neck and heads of poultry asthe poultry is conveyed through a processing plant in an invertedattitude.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent upon reading the following specification, when taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the poultry processing apparatus,showing the overhead conveyor system and the helical rotor.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the helical rotor structure.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the conveyor rail of the overhead conveyorsystem and the support frame and drive for the rotor bar.

FIG. 4 is a perspective illustration of the helical rotor structure.

FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 are schematic end views of the helical rotor, showingthe manner in which the birds are introduced into and grasped by thehelical rotor.

FIGS. 8, 9 and 10 are detail illustrations of the cutting means mountedon the helical rotor structure.

FIG. 11 is a cross sectional illustration of the helical bars of thehelical rotor structure, taken along lines 10--10 of FIG. 5, andillustrating the position of a bird's neck and head as the bird isconveyed by the rotor structure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now in more detail to the drawings, in which like numeralsindicate like parts throughout the several views, FIG. 1 illustrates thepoultry processing apparatus 11 which comprises an overhead conveyorsystem 12 and a helical rotor 14. The overhead conveyor system 12includes horizontal rail 15 that includes a lower laterally protrudingflange 16, a plurality of trolleys 18 (only one illustrated) mounted onrail 15 with the wheels 19 of the trolleys moving along the lower flange16 of the rail. Conveyor chain 20 is connected to each trolley 18 andfunctions to pull each trolley along the rail throughout the poultryprocessing plant in a conventional arrangement. A bird support carrieror shackle 21 is mounted on each trolley 18, and the poultry or birds 22are suspended in the shackles 21. This is conventional in the prior art.

Helical rotor 14 is suspended beneath overhead conveyor system 12 bymeans of adjustable support frame 24. Tubular supports 25 and 26 (FIG.3) are mounted on the upper surface of conveyor rail 15 and extendhorizontally across the length of the conveyor rail. Horizontal supports27 and 28 are telescopically received in tubular supports 25 and 26, andvertical tubular supports 29 and 30 are rigidly mounted on the ends ofhorizontal supports 27 and 28. Stanchions 31 and 32 (FIG. 1) aretelescopically received in vertical tubular supports 29 and 30. Supportplatform 34 (FIGS. 1 and 2) is rigidly mounted to the lower end ofstanchion 31. Helical rotor 14 includes axle 35 and a pair of helicalbars 36 and 37 in coaxial, overlapping relationship which form an openended helical path 38 therebetween. Axle 35 is rotatably mounted at oneof its ends and bearing structure 40 on platform 34. Gear box 41 isrigidly connected to the lower end of stanchion 32, and axle 35 ofhelical rotor 14 is rotatably supported by the universal joint 42 ofgear box 41.

Rotor drive assembly 44 includes drive sprocket 45 that has peripheralteeth in engagement with the links of conveyor chain 20, sprocket shaft46 mounted in bearings 48 on platform 49, and upper drive sprocket 50also attached to sprocket shaft 46. Endless chain 51 (FIG. 3) extendsabout upper drive sprocket 50 and about upper driven sprocket 52. Upperdriven sprocket 52 is rotatably mounted on sprocket shaft 54 mounted inbearings 55 to platform 56. Drive shaft 58 includes upper and lowertelescoping elements 59 and 60, and the upper telescoping element 59 isconnected to sprocket shaft 54 by means of universal joint 61 while thelower telescoping element 60 is connected to gear box 41 by itsuniversal joint 62. Rotor drive assembly 44 rotates helical rotor 14 inresponse to the movement of conveyor chain 20, so that the angularvelocity of helical rotor 14 corresponds to the linear velocity ofconveyor chain 20.

The height and attitude of helical rotor 14 is adjustable. Thestanchions 31 and 32 can be raised or lowered through their verticaltubular supports 29 or 30 and a support pin or other fastening means 64is insertable through openings 65 through the stanchion, so that the pin64 can rest on the vertical tubular supports 29. Likewise, thehorizontal supports 27 and 28 can be moved through their tubularsupports 25 and 26 and a set screw or other fastening means 66 can beused to hold the elements together. Usually, the helical rotor 14 willbe oriented as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, with the axle 35 angledupwardly from support plate 34 toward gear box 41 (FIG. 1) and extendingfrom beneath the conveyor line and angled outwardly therefrom (FIG. 2).Thus, when the direction of travel of the poultry on the conveyor lineis in the direction indicated by arrow 68, the entrance end of thehelical rotor 14 is at 69 and the exit end of the helical rotor is at70.

As illustrated in more detail in FIG. 4, the helical bars 36 and 37 aresupported from axle 35 by a plurality of radial support struts 71. Eachsupport strut 71 is mounted at its inner end to strut socket 72, and thestrut sockets 72 are telescopically mounted on axle 35. The outer end ofeach radial support strut 71 is L-shaped, with its horizontal leg 74connected at its end to a helical bar 36 or 37. Set screws or otherfasteners 75 hold each strut socket 72 in a fixed position on axle 35.When the set screws 75 are all loosened, the helical bars 36 and 37 canbe moved axially and rotatably with respect to axle 35, so as toproperly position the helical bars 36 and 37 with respect to each otherand to adjust the width of the open ended helical path 38 that is formedbetween the helical bars 36 and 37. When the set screws are tightened,the helical bars 36 and 37 remain stationary with respect to the axle35. With this arrangement, the space between the helical bars 36 and 37can be adjusted to receive larger or smaller necks of the fowl beingprocessed in the poultry processing apparatus 11, and helical bar 36functions as a feed bar which gathers in and moves the necks and headsof the birds along the path of the helical rotor, while the helical bar37 functions as a guide bar to control and guide the necks and heads ofthe birds.

As illustrated in FIGS. 8, 9 and 10, various neck treating means can bemounted on helical bars 36 and 37. FIG. 8 illustrates cutting means 76mounted on the ends of helical bars 36 and 37. The cutting means 36includes a cutting blade 78 mounted in a slot 79 of a blade supportsprocket 80. Each blade support sprocket 80 is rigidly mounted to theend of its helical bar 36 or 37 as by welding or by means of a setscrew, and the slot 79 and blade 78 are directed inwardly toward thehelical path 38 and the helical bars 36 and 37 and blades 78 move withrespect to the bird in the direction indicated by arrow 77. Therefore,the cutting means 76 function as means for severing the opposite sidesof the neck of a bird grasped between the helical bars 36 and 37.

As illustrated in FIG. 9, the cutting means 76 are arranged so thattheir blades 78 are staggered or offset with respect to each other. Thisstaggered relationship of the blades 78 causes the opposite sides of theneck of the birds to be cut in sequence, rather than simultaneously, sothat the cutting force required to make the cuts in the opposite sidesof the neck are applied in sequence rather than simultaneously.

As illustrated in FIG. 10, an alternate cutting means 84 is attached tothe ends of helical bars 36 and 37. This cutting means includes blades85, 86 and 87 which progressively cut deeper into the opposite sides ofthe necks of the birds, with blade 87 spanning across the entire openended helical path 38 for the purpose of decapitating the birds.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, at least the end portion 35a of axle 35 istubular and defines a fluid passage 85 therethrough. The passage canextend the entire length of axle 35 or a portion of the length thereof.Header 86 surrounds axle 35, and fluid conduit 88 communicates withheader 86. Axle 35 includes at least one opening therethrough (notshown) that communicates the interior portion of header 86 with thefluid passage 85 of the axle, so that fluid can pass along the length ofaxle 35.

Branch conduit 89 communicates at one of its ends with fluid passage 85of axle 35, and the other end of branch conduit 89 communicates with anend of helical bar 36. Helical bar 36 is also fabricated from tubularstock and defines a fluid passage 90 (FIG. 11) extending therethrough. Asimilar branch conduit 91 is connected between axle 35 and the otherhelical bar 37, and helical bar 37 also defines a fluid passage 92 (FIG.11) extending therethrough. A plurality of fluid openings 94 are formedat spaced intervals along helical bars 36 and 37 and communicate withfluid passages 90 and 92. Thus, fluid, such as hot water, steam or otherfluids, can be moved through fluid conduit 88, header 86, branchconduits 89 and 91 and out of the openings 94 in the helical bars 36 and37. The openings 94 are directed inwardly toward the open ended helicalpath 38 formed between the helical bars 36 and 37, so that the fluid isdirected toward the necks of the birds being processed. Also, the fluidtends to wet the surfaces of each helical bar 36 and 37 so as tolubricate the surfaces of the bars.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2, 5, 6 and 7, the birds 22 are conveyed onthe overhead conveyor system 12 by their shackles 21 and to the entranceend 69 of the helical rotor 14. Since the entrance end 69 (FIGS. 1 and2) of the helical rotor is positioned beneath the path of the overheadconveyor 12, the head 95 and necks 96 of the birds 22 will be moved intothe confines of the helical bars 36 and 37. At the entrance end 69,helical bar 37 is somewhat circular in configuration so that itsentrance end 37a terminates adjacent the surface of helical bar 36 anddiverges away from the entrance end 36a of helical bar 36, forming anenlarged gap 38a in the open ended helical path 38. Thus, when the necksand heads of the birds approach the entrance end 69 of the helical rotor14, the entrance end 37a of helical bar 37 prevents the necks and headsfrom inadvertently missing the open ended helical path 38. The enlargedgap 38a therefore receives the neck 96 of each bird and progressivelycloses about the neck until the neck is securely grasped by the helicalbars 36 and 37 in the open ended helical path 38.

The helical rotor 14 rotates in the direction indicated by arrow 98(FIGS. 5-7) so that as the helical bars 36 and 37 frictionally engagethe sides of the necks of the birds 22, there is a lifting action on thenecks of the birds. Because the helical rotor 14 is angled upwardly andlaterally with respect to the conveyor path 68, the birds 22 movedownwardly and laterally with respect to the helical rotor 14 whereuponthe neck is received in the portion of the helical rotor that is movingin an upward direction. This causes more lifting action to be applied tothe necks and heads of the birds as they progress further through thehelical rotor 14, and the weight W of the birds tend to hold the body ofthe bird extending downwardly from its shackle 21. Thus, the neck ofeach bird tends to be stretched and lifted upwardly against the weightof the bird until the head 95 seeks a position with respect to thehelical rotor (FIG. 7). By the time the birds reach the positionindicated in FIG. 7, the long axis of the heads of each bird will beoriented parallel to the open ended helical path, which is approximatelyacross the direction of movement of the birds along the conveyor path68. As the birds 22 move further through the helical rotor 14, the heads95 of the birds become more securely seated between the helical bars 36and 37, and by the time the birds reach the exit end 70 of the helicalrotor 14, the cutting means 76 or other processing means will receivethe necks and heads of the birds in a predetermined position, so thatthe opposite sides of the necks of the birds will be severed etc. Whencutting means 76 of the type illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9 are used, theopposite sides of the necks are severed so as to cut the jugular vein ofthe birds without cutting the trachea or spinal cord.

The helical bars 36 and 37 preferably are formed with a pitch so thatthe advancement of the helical path 38 formed by the bars 36 and 37 oneach 360° rotation is equal to the space between adjacent ones of theshackles 21 of the conveyor system. Thus, a multiple number of birdswill be received simultaneously in the helical rotor 14. In theillustrated embodiment, the diameter of the helical bars 36 and 37 isone foot and the length of the helical bars is approximately three feet.These dimensions can be modified in accordance with the type birds beingprocessed; however, for a given pitch and rotational velocity, a largerdiameter of the rotor increases the circumferential velocity of thehelical bars and therefore increases the impact of the cutting means onthe necks of the birds, which enables the cutting means to cut moreeffectively.

As the necks of the birds are grasped and moved through the helical bars36 and 37, the friction of the helical bars against the necks of thebirds tends to wipe the feathers at the neck across the length of theneck. This effectively moves the feathers out of the way of the cuttingmeans, so that the cutting means do not have to cut through so manyfeathers as it cuts into the necks of the birds. Therefore, the knivesand other cutting means tend to remain sharper for a longer period oftime and the impact required by the cutting means against the necks ofthe birds in order to effectively cut the necks is reduced.

The guide bars 36 and 37 grasp the necks of the birds immediatelyadjacent the skull of the bird, and the cutting means of FIG. 10 whichdecapitate the bird are arranged to cut through the neck tissue adjacentthe portion of the esophagus and trachea that are connected together, sothat the esophagus and trachea left in the body of the bird are notconnected together and can be expediently removed from the carcus of thebird in a later operation.

While this invention has been described in detail with particularreference to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood thatvariations and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scopeof the invention as described hereinbefore and as defined in theappended claims.

I claim:
 1. In a poultry processing system wherein a plurality of birdsare suspended in an inverted attitude and moved in a series along aprocessing path by a conveyor through a plurality of processing steps,the improvement comprising wiping the neck feathers on opposite sides ofthe neck of each bird in a direction extending laterally across thelength of the neck of each bird in a direction transverse to theprocessing path as the birds move along the processing path to move thefeathers out of the way of a cutting means, and cutting with a cuttingmeans through the skin and tissue of the neck on opposite sides of theneck at the areas of the neck where the feathers have been wiped with amotion laterally transverse to the processing path.
 2. The process ofclaim 1 and wherein the step of wiping the neck feathers on oppositesides of the neck of each bird includes lifting the neck of the bird andstretching the neck of the bird with the wiping motion.
 3. In a poultryprocessing system wherein a plurality of birds are suspended in aninverted attitude and moved in series by a conveyor through a pluralityof processing steps, the improvement comprising grasping the neck ofeach bird adjacent its skull, lifting and wiping the sides of the neckof each bird against the weight of the body of the bird in a directionacross the length of the neck and across the direction of travel of eachbird to stretch the neck of the bird and to move the feathers at thesides of the neck out of the way of a cutting means, and cutting theneck of each bird with a cutting means while the neck is lifted andstretched and while the feathers have been moved out of the way of thecutting means.
 4. The process of claim 3 and further including the stepof wetting the neck feathers of each bird which have been wiped as theneck of the bird is lifted against the weight of the body of the bird.5. In a poultry processing system wherein a plurality of birds aresuspended in an inverted attitude and conveyed in a series through aplurality of processing steps, the improvement comprising moving theneck portion of each bird in series into engagement with a helicalrotary element including a pair of coaxial overlapping helical screwelements extending about a common central axis and defining a helicalslot therebetween so that the neck of each bird extends through the slotwith the head of each bird on one side of the screw elements adjacentthe central axis of the screw elements and the body of each bird on theother side of the screw elements, rotating the rotary element about thecentral axis of the screw elements to urge the necks of the birds insequence along the length of the rotary element, and treating the neckof each bird with the rotary element as the birds move along the lengthof the rotary element.
 6. The process of claim 5 and further includingmoving water into and through a portion of at least one of said screwelements and out of the screw element to wet the screw element and thenecks of the birds passing through the helical slot formed by the screwelements.
 7. The process of claim 5 wherein the step of treating theneck of each bird comprises cutting through the skin and flesh of theneck of each bird with a knife element mounted on the screw element. 8.The process of claim 5 and wherein the step of treating the neck of eachbird comprises cutting through the skin and flesh on opposite sides ofthe neck of each bird with knife elements mounted on each of the screwelements.
 9. The process of claim 5 and wherein the step of treating theneck of each bird comprises decapitating each bird at a position on theneck adjacent the connection of the esophagus and the trachea.
 10. Theprocess of claim 5 and wherein the step of moving the neck portion ofeach bird in series into engagement with a helical rotary elementcomprises moving the birds along a path disposed at an angle withrespect to the longitudinal axis of the helical screw elements, andfurther including the step of lifting the neck of each bird with thehelical screw elements.
 11. The process of claim 5 and further includingthe step of orienting the head of each bird so that the longer axis ofeach head is coextensive with the helical slot of the rotary element.12. A method of killing poultry comprising the steps of moving aplurality of birds in series in an inverted attitude along a path,grasping the neck of each bird on opposite sides of the neck adjacentits head and progressively lifting the neck and head of each birdlaterally from beneath the path as the birds move along the path tostretch the neck of each bird against the weight of the body of eachbird, orienting the head of each bird so that its longer dimensionextends across the direction of travel of the bird along the path,moving a cutting means in a direction laterally transverse to thedirection of travel of the bird along the path, and engaging the neck ofeach bird with the cutting means at the locations on the neck where theneck is grasped and lifted so as to sever opposite sides of the neck andthe jugular vein of the bird without severing the trachea or spinal cordof the bird.
 13. The method of claim 12 and wherein the step of graspingthe neck of each bird includes wiping the feathers of the neck of eachbird in a direction across the length of the neck, and applying liquiddirectly to the areas of the neck of each bird being wiped.
 14. In apoultry processing system wherein a plurality of birds are suspended inan inverted attitude and moved in series along a path by a conveyorthrough a plurality of processing steps, the improvement comprisinginserting the neck of each bird between a pair of bars arranged inside-by-side helical configuration and spaced from each other alongtheir lengths a distance less than the width of the head of the birdwith the head of the bird positioned on one side of the bars and withthe rest of the body of the bird positioned on the other side of thebars, rotating the helically formed bars about their longitudinal axisat a rotational velocity which tends to move the neck of the bird at avelocity corresponding to the velocity at which the rest of the body ofthe bird is moved by the conveyor, and treating the neck of the bird asthe neck of the bird is moved by the pair of helical bars.
 15. Thepoultry processing system of claim 14 and wherein the step of rotatingthe helically formed bars about their longitudinal axis comprisesrotating the helically formed bars about an axis that is inclinedupwardly with respect to the conveyor path and that diverges laterallyout from beneath the conveyor path, and rotating the helically formedbars in a direction that tends to lift the neck of the bird and urge theneck of the bird laterally and upwardly with respect to the conveyorpath.
 16. The poultry processing system of claim 14 and wherein the pairof bars are tubular, and further including the step of inducing a flowof fluid through the tubular bars.
 17. A method of killing poultrycomprising the steps of moving a plurality of birds in series in aninverted attitude along a path, grasping the neck of each bird byinserting the neck of each bird between a pair of overlapping coaxialhelical bars, rotating the helical bars at an angular velocitycorresponding to the rate of movement of the birds along the path,orienting the head of each bird so that its longer dimension extendsacross the direction of travel of the bird along the path, engaging theneck of each bird with a cutting means at the location on the neck wherethe neck is grasped so as to sever the jugular vein of the bird withoutsevering the trachea or spinal cord of the bird.